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Small Scale Traders from Kamukunji, Eastleigh, Luthuli Avenue and Gikomba in Nairobi county have petitioned parliament to amend a number of laws to put a capping on the number of Chinese nationals investing in the country, failure to which they will call for country wide demonstrations to protest the move.

The dealers under the Association of Small Scale Traders raised concerns that various organs and officials in government have been promoting, aiding and abetting the influx of Chinese nationals in the country a move that has threatened the survival of its members, businesses and the livelihoods of two million Kenyans and six million dependents.

The traders told MPs who sit in the Departmental Committee on Trade, Industry and Cooperatives chaired by Embakasi North MP James Gakuya to in particular initiate amendments to the Investment Promotion Act to provide various conditions that an investor should have before they are issued with an investments certificate.

Led by their chairman Kimani Ng’ang’a, the traders said that for a foreign investor to be allowed to start a business in the country they should have invested a minimum of Sh500 million in capital, create employment for a minimum of 100 Kenyan citizens as well as contribute at least Sh50 million annually to tax revenues or other government revenues.

Said Ng’ang’a: “The Investment Promotion Authority (IPA) should strictly enforce the investment Promotion Act to ensure that investment certificates are issued to the right investors whose investments are beneficial to Kenya and not detrimental to the business and trade interests of Kenyan citizens.”

He added: “Parliament should ensure that pursuant to articles 12,21 and 43 of the constitution that all laws dealing with economic and social right, business concerns and property ownership are amended to protect, promote and secure the interests of the Kenyan citizens otherwise Kenyans might once again become servants and errand boys of foreigners like it was during the colonial times.”

Commercial activities

In their presentation before the committee, the traders took issue with the continued operations of the China Square Mall which they claim has engaged in trading and commercial activities that threaten the survival of the businesses of the association members and their livelihoods of their families and dependents.

They claimed that the investment and related activities carried out by China Square mall are not beneficial to Kenya because they enable dominance of Chinese traders at the expense of Kenyan traders and also do not satisfy the mandatory conditions set out in law.

According to them the IPA is to blame for unlawfully issuing investment certificates to Chinese traders and economic migrants to engage in economic activities that not only undermine sustainable development in Kenya and prejudices its citizens but does so in contravention of the conditions set out in section 4 of the IPA act.

The petition by the traders against China Square store which is located at the Unicity mall near Kenyatta University comes after early this year the traders led demonstration to protest for the opening of the said facility on grounds that it was rendering them out of business due to the cheap prices of their products.